Mikey is an autistic adult and long-time attendee of our Lancashire Centre’s Day Opportunities Centre.

When Mikey was younger, he found it difficult to engage socially with others, and tended to prefer his own company or that of his computer over other people. It was one of Mikey’s carers, Wendy, who sought out the help of our Lancashire Centre whilst she was investigating local National Autistic Society services.

When Mikey first joined the Lancashire Centre, he had very firm ideas about what he liked, and did not like to deviate from them or try any new activities. Mikey also lacked confidence in himself, so initially he did not enjoy speaking to his peers.

After settling in at the Centre, Mikey started to try new activities

It took Mikey some time to familiarise himself with our staff team. At first, Mikey did not want to engage with staff when they tried to motivate him to try new activities or develop new skills. But the team continued to encourage Mikey, gently communicating to him that he was limiting himself. Once Mikey had processed this, he began to listen – and when he listened and communicated his needs clearly, staff were able to engage with him to broaden his interests.

Mikey: “I enjoy coming to the Lancashire Centre, we should do it more.”

To help Mikey get to know others at the Centre, staff began to introduce him to low-pressure group activities, such as trips to sensory spaces and arts and crafts sessions, where he quickly became familiar with everybody. Mikey was a strong swimmer, and so he began swimming with the Centre. Mikey now regularly goes swimming with other autistic adults attending the Centre, and he enjoys this very much.

When asked how he feels about his new interests, such as socialising, arts and crafts, and swimming, Mikey says simply: “I am the best.”

Soon, Mikey also began to develop his cooking skills

Mikey liked to eat, but he was not initially interested in learning to cook. To help Mikey develop his cooking skills, our staff found a compromise. Mikey loved sugary foods, so our staff began baking sweet treats with him. Mikey was good at this, and he has since become very confident around the kitchen area.

Mikey has gone from following the recipes suggested by staff to researching and choosing his own recipes. Whilst Mikey was not initially interested in making savoury foods, Mikey now suggests savoury recipes to try, and has a growing collection of things he is able to make. Now, when he attends the Centre on a Monday, Mikey tells staff that on Friday, they will be making croissants or sausage rolls!